Shoe with a filler



Se t. 26, 1950 E. 1. L CHAPELLE 2,523,702

SHOE WITH A FILLER Filed Dec. 15, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 26, 1950E. l. L CHAPELLE SHOE WITH A FILLER 3 Sheds-Sheet 2 Filed D60. 15, 1949-1\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\1 [III/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////1| Iawenior Maw i Sept. 26, 1950 v LaCHAPELLE 2,523,702

SHOE WITH A FILLER Filed Dec. 15, 1349 3 Sheets -Sheet 3 Patented Sept.26, 1950 Euclid I. LaChapelle, Brocktn,Mass., assignor of one-fourth toAlbert L. La Chapelle, onefourth to Beatrice H. La Chapelle,-andonefourth to Rachel E. 'La Chapelle Application December 15, 1949,Serial No. 133,124

'1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to footwear and more particularly to boots andshoes of the well known Goodyear welt process, and in a broader aspect,to any'kind or type of adaptable footwear, and the claim is to beinterpreted in that broad sense.

The term shoe occurring in the specification and in the claim is to beinterpreted to include the term boot. v

The present invention has .for its chief objective further to improvetheshoestructure, and notably the shoe forepart bottom filler, disclosed inapplicant's Patent No; 2,439,172, granted April 6, 1948.

The'nat'ureof the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in theappended claim.

Sponge rubber orthe like of a quality'adequate to comfortably supportand resiliently cushion the foot for a reasonable length of time duringwear, is well recognized to be the best filler material known for a shoeforepart bottom filler, although that when extending all over theforepart bottom cavity, as with conventional fillers, the wearers footis thereby unduly drawn. But experiments by'the applicant in makingshoes of the Goodyear welt "process embodying a forepart bottom filler01 sponge. rubber, such as shown in the aforesaid patent, disclosed thatsince the bottom cavity in mens shoes of the Goodyear welt processor thelike was necessarily limitedto a depth of'only one-eighth of an inch orthereabouts, the bottom filler wasthereby correspondingly limited toathickness of only oneeighth of an inch or thereabouts. which thicknessof the bottom filler is not sufiicient' for lasting effective results inthe resiliency of sponge rubber during-wear, as then'the air cells areinsufficient in number to withstand the pressure of the foot and theygradually break downand collapse after arelatively short time of wear.

Suffice it to say, that a shoe forepart bottom filler formed of .spongerubber or the like, such as shownin the ball area of the shoeshown inthe aforesaid'patent, and such as herein shown, to be practical mustnecessarily be of high quality and, at least, of the thickness ofone-quarter of an inch or thereabouts, for'satisfactory lastingeffective results-in resiliency during wear.

Moreover, even a shoe forepart bottom filler, notably when formed with adistinct filler portion in the ball area, as herein'proposed, of anykind of cushioning filler material, to be effectively comfortablein'satisfactorily cushioning the foot against impact during a reasonablelength .of time during wear, should be of the advantageous aforesaidthickness of a least one-quarter of an inch or thereabouts.

A further defective condition existing in the support.

My present invention aims towards the elimination of the foregoing,stated defective conditions now existing in a shoe embodying a forepartbottom filler such as shown in the aforesaid patent.

As shown in the accompanying drawings: Fig. ,1 is a plan view of aconventional mans shoe inner sole intended for a shoe of the wellknown'Goodyear welt process or the like;

Fig.2 is a cross-sectional view of the said inner sole taken on line 2-2of Fig. 1; Fig.3 shows a distinct filler portion in the ball area oftheshoe-forepart bottom filler;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the said distinct filler portiontaken on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view'of a shoe incorporated at that'stage ofmanufacture shown in said Fig. 5, theinner sole'in Figs. 1 and 2 and thedistinct filler'portion'ofthe forepart bottom filler shown in'Fi-gs. 3and -4 Fig. 6' isa view similar to that shown in Fig. 5, but showingthe-provision of aforepart bottom filler in the form of the Well knownconventional ground 'cork cement combination filler materials;

Fig. .7 is a view of a mid-sole with the provision-o'i a holetherethrough adapted to receive the excess in thickness of the distinctfillerporelement 7, located within the recess formed by the perforationof the mid-sole;

Fig. 11 shows an enlarged view of the improved shoe of the Goodyear weltprocess incorporating the invention; and

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the said im proved shoe taken online l2l2 of Fig. 11.

As further shown in the drawings:

The inner sole I, is herein shown as formed of leather preferably ofone-eighth of an inch in thickness, and is provided with the channellips 2 and 3, leaving the between-substance 4, serving as the sewingrib, and which is reinforced by the cotton fabric 5, extending over itsentire plane face enclosed by the sewing rib and upstanding along thechannel lips 2, as best shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 3, I have provided a distinct filler portion 6,preferably of circular form, and which is formed, preferably, of spongerubber of high grade quality, of one-fourth of an inch in thickness orthereabouts, and which is oneeighth of an inch or thereabouts thickerthan the conventional forepart bottom filler intended for a shoe of theGoodyear welt process, and which I have provided with a support I, atits lower end, formed of any suitable material, such as of hard rubberor hard plastic material, preferably of one-sixteenth of an inch inthickness then forming, as a whole, the distinct filler por tion, asshown at 6a, Fig. 4, and which support I, is adapted to contact with theouter sole l8, and serve as a reinforcing supportfor the resilientfiller material of the said distinct filler portion 6 during the time ofwear.

The aforesaid support I, is greatly beneficial in supporting andupholding on a substantially level plane the resilient portion of theforepart bottom filler 6, during the time of wear, while that portion ofthe outsole l8 which comes into direct contact therewith gradually Wearsout and weakens toward the center of the forepart which always is thefirst part of the outsole to be worn entirely through in any and alltypes of shoes.

As shown in Fig. 5, the shoe has reached the stage of manufacture wherethe welt 9, and the upper I 0, have been secured to the sewing rib t, ofthe insole I, by the inseam stitches 8-, formed by a welt shoe inseamsewing machine, and where the heel-seat of the shoe has been formed andpermanently secured in formed condition by the tacks l4, and where ashankstiffener Ii, has been provided and secured to the insole by thetacks [3, in the open space I2, of the heel-seat, and the distinctfiller portion 6, as shown at 6a, Fig. 4, and in Figs. 11 and 12, withthe supporting element 1, bonded to its lower portion, has been disposedon the cementitious material already provided all over the inner planeface of the insole, as in conventional practice.

Asshown in Fig. 6, the filler 15, formed, preferably, of grounded corkand cementitious material has been provided at the toepart and in closeproximity to the shankpart, making for readiness of the shoe to receivethe midsole II, and the outsole 18. In this connection it is to .benoted that the filler l5, in being formed of grounded cork andcementitious material (a well known and extensively used filler) is farless resilient than the filler material forming the distinct fillerportion 6, and advantageously so, in making for a firm grip upon theinsole of the wearers toes, and notably of the great toe, in propellingthe body forward in the act of walking, and in avoiding undue draw uponthe extreme forepart of the foot, which is the part of the foot mostconfined and devoid of air during the time of wear.

In combination with the distinct filler portion 6, and the support 1, Ihave provided a forepart mid-sole l6, preferably formed of leather andpreferably of one-eighth of an inch in thickness, through which a holell, has been provided in juxta-relation to the said distinct fillerportion 6, which already has been disposed in the bottom cavity, foradaptation to receive the excess portion of the thickness of thedistinct filler portion 6, which is one-eighth of an inch or thereaboutsover the thickness of the conventional forepart bottom filler in thebottom cavity of the shoe, and I have provided the outer sole l8, towhich the forepart mid-sole l6 has been secured, as in conventionalpractice, by cementitious material, as best shown in Fig. 9.

In this connection, it is to be noted, that without departing from thespirit of my invention, the unitary combination of the outsole andmidsole, such as herein shown, is not absolutely necessary, as a singleoutsole of a thickness suflicient to properly be recessed, injuxta-relation to the distinct filler portion 6, to receive the excessthickness of the said distinct filler'portion 6, may be adopted; and, inthe event of any one doing so, I would consider my invention as beingavailed of in its most vital aspect.

As shown in Fig. 10, the unitary combination of the mid-sole and of theouter sole, shown in Fig. 9, has been laid on the shoe shown in Fig. 6,and thereafter the conventional. shoe-making operations having beenperformed, the finished improved Goodyear welt shoe is, as shown in Fig.11, and, as best shown in the cross-sectional view taken through |2-I2Fig. 11; showing that the outsole l8 has been preferably attached to thewelt 9, by the lock-stitches I9, formed by an outsole stitching machine,permanently securing it to the bottom of the shoe, including themidsole, and the filler 6, and its support 1.

Thus, an improved shoe has been brought forth, which not only makes forlong lasting comfort, in cushioning, by the provision of a distinctfiller portion, as herein proposed, that part of the foot which bearsmost of the weight of the body when either walking or standing, and/orin positively holding the said distinct filler portion from unduedisarrangement during the entire time of wear, and which, moreover,makes for a very flexible bottom, and, it is a notable fact, that bothcushioning and flexibility are required together in a shoe bottom forthe best results in the performance of either of said two functions.

I claim as my invention:

A shoe having an insole provided with 'a sewing rib extendingapproximately from the breast line of the shoe around the toe portion,an outsole, a midsole positioned between the outsole andand the insoleat the ball portion, said midsole having a recess therein, fillerslocated in the midsole recess and cavity formed by the sewing rib, saidfillers being formed of a resilient and less resilient portion, the lessresilient portion extending from the toe to the shank of the insole andcomprisin all of the filler except a portion of filler of greaterresiliency located in the ball area, said filler of greater resiliencyhaving a supportin element disposed upon the lower part thereof andbeing located by the recess REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,089,170 La Chapelle Aug. 10,1937 2,439,172 Bain Apr. 6, 1948

